Cross that Off Your "To Do" List

I kind of hate those people who depend on "to do" lists. If you're one of those people whose life is not complete and cannot function properly without a "to do" list to guide them through life, then please forgive me - it's nothing personal.

It's just that I'm not an organizer, nor a planner, nor an accomplisher. I totally understand why people do it, though. With all the demands of work, family, friends, errands, bills, and if you have enough time left over, personsal interests, it's understandable that one would want to plan out their day so as to make sure they acheive maximum efficiency and productivity. What better satisfaction than being able to cross things off your list so that you know that YOU DID IT!

Yes, you made that dentist appointment for a root canal!

Yipee, you remembered to get pantyliners at the grocery store!

Hooray, you successfully completed that project your boss assigned you and managed to order those airline tickets to Jamaica in between.

You are the queen of multi-tasking. You are the master juggler. And you've got the list to prove it.

I guess everyone has a personality type and I marvel over how easily you can sometimes fit people into those types. For instance, all the anal people I know make "to do" lists. They organize and categorize their spices, CD collections, and photographs. They plan what they're going to wear to work 6 weeks in advance. They know if someone has used the stapler on their desk because it is 1/8 of an inch from where they last left it. They cannot function if they see of stack of papers that needs aligning or hanging pictures that need straightening. The crave balance and symmetry. They are at peace when everything can be filed away into their perfect boxes, baskets, or color coded folders.

I am so unlike these people. If you saw my desk you'd think that I wouldn't be able to find a thing on it. But trust me, I can find it. I keep my "to do" lists in my head and if I forget something on it, oh well. I'm pretty easygoing that way.

I occasionally peruse other blogs and see that many people blog about lists. Sometimes they're lists of things that drive people crazy, or things overheard, or things still left undone. So, this got me thinking if I had a "to do" list like that. What things would I want to do before I die?

Here's a sampling, in no particular order- so now I can kind of hate myself:

• Go back to Ireland, specifically Kinsale. Stay at the Trident Hotel.

• Take a cross country trip in an RV and see all the popular sites-The Grand Canyon, camping in the SW deserts, Yellowstone, etc.

• Learn how to brew beer.

• Hike the Appalachian Trail (ok, I'm a realist so this should read "hike a small portion of the Appalachian Trail")

• Hang glide (preferably over some body of water)

• Star in a community theater production of any Tennessee Williams' play, or at least be the curtain puller

• Paint all rooms of my house different wild and vibrant colors, starting with a deep red in my dining room.

• Write a southern gothic novel

• Finish grad school

• Cut and highlight my hair

• Take a Tai Chi class

• Get a professional massage

• Become a rock singer or a singer in a bluegrass band (hey, I would want to be versatile if I actually had any singing talent)

• Create a "to do" list of things that I want to do before I die, but probably don't have the talent, guts, or determination to actually accomplish. But this is America and I can dream, damn it!

So, as you can see some of these are reasonable goals, but some are near impossible. Maybe I will acheive some satisfaction once I accomplish any or all of the above since I have officially written my "to do" list.

At least now I can cross one thing off my list.